Observations From the Spectrum

I like to be awake and see even when the view is painful and processing of the view even worse. It is when I am most alive I reckon. Like attacking like has never sat well with me. Boys sent to fight other boys for the sake of those who never struggle. We are headed somewhere. I would prefer the destination to be bright, not dark.

David doesn’t want to forgive Goliath for being a bully. Instead, he wants to build a Machine so that he can become the bully and then rely on people’s historical memory of the story to feel sympathy for him when he slays Goliath. In other words, the new narrative is how the bullied becomes the bully but wants to remain out of reach from consequence.

And through the courtrooms of law, consequences are doled out only to the poor. The elite and rich, who once were subject to justice, now just pay their way to create smokescreens of lies and deceptions that bend the truth and paint them as the victim. And more often than not, get off scot free.

But if this was the only grift or deceit playing in the background, even the most illiterate among us would become aware. So there is a simultaneous long game being played to reinforce the power of the corrupt and enslave the common man.

The big question then becomes how to define the ‘common man.’ As a world traveler, I think it’s pretty evident that the common thread of man is family and being able to take care of and meet the needs of the family. I am also keenly aware of the gender I am using. The world at large is still primarily patriarchal no matter where you go from the center of Manhattan to the slums of Bangladesh. 

The reason I am using the phrase ‘common man’ is to draw attention to defining common but also man. Men at large are taught and bred to be protectors and providers. When they are unable to provide, they tend to congregate and create gangs or mobs that feed off of the angst of each other. They become followers who need to be led.

Smart leaders know this to be true. It’s been written about for thousands of years. Angry young men in groups are a force to be reckoned with and feared because if they go from angstful bystanders to a mob, the tsunami that they create leaves a path of destruction. We have seen this globally time and time again. Rioting. Looting. I wish I could say needless violence but that would be a lie. Needless violence does not exist. It is always a reaction even when it seems like it comes out of nowhere.

When the common man cannot provide for his own survival, let alone his or her families, they are forced to revert to basic animalistic behavior and with good reason. All biological creatures want to survive and will do so at all cost. We’ve seen this in real-time in inner cities in America with warring gangs like the Crips and the Bloods and globally with factions of other minority groups who want to survive. Like killing like. Only when like kills different do we notice.

In America, American leadership doesn’t care. America is too big to worry about small swaths of land like Compton or Brownsville. The rule is as long as the violence is between equal groups of common man, the elite or leadership let it be and enjoy the show. They know no harm will come to them. It’s only when that violence crosses over socio-economic lines do they notice and take action. Then our leadership calls it a travesty or unwarranted or needless behavior. It is not. The hungry who steal to eat do so with extreme purpose and need. 

Or when it crosses over to areas of resources. Places like Africa and the Middle East. Gold. Oil. Precious Metals. Then American leadership cares and labels these violent groups as terrorists instead of letting them kill each other off as they do in their homeland as gang violence, our leaders pour our money into the military to protect their long-term interests.

Hence, close to a trillion dollar military budget. It shouldn’t even be called that at this point. We should have two budgets. One, Superpower Doomsday All Die Nuclear Holocaust budget which should be pennies to the dollar at this point. All we need to do is maintain our current arsenal. I am sure the B83s of today will do the same destruction in 10-20 years as they can today.

The second budget should be renamed The Security Budget to Protect the Resources and Lives of Those With Wealth and Power. I know that we all think we will be rich but that 1 with 12 zeros is not being spent to protect your interests or mine unless your bank account has a crapload more zeros than mine.

But those that rule are smart even when they look dumb. They are good at the show or they wouldn’t continue to have power. So as long as we are placated by their fabricated stories of ‘common men’ from other nations wanting to do us harm, we will continue to read and listen to the story like none other. 

THis narrative works. It fits our psyche better than any Marvel or Hollywood movie. What it does is it gets some to act, they buy guns and ammo and stockpile for the battle that they are  imagining, while their neighbors look on horrified but unwilling to step in or act against these actions for fear that it may be true. There may be terrorists hiding behind every bush.

I said before that I have traveled the world and have learned a few things. Most people fear what they don’t know and do not want to go first. Cool people exist all over as do jerks. And most people just want to enjoy their lives as they want too. With family. Friends. Loved one. Drinking tea or beer. Watching football or football. Eating barbeque. 

We are closer to being the same than we are at being different. It’s the powers that be that want and teach us to think that our version of the ‘common man’ is so different from another. It allows the Elite and those in power to continue their masquerade and avoid consequences for their actions. They live a life of impunity by getting us to believe in their story and teaching us to live in fear. 

That is what we should stand up against. The ‘Elite Man.’ The person who gets it all, not by virtue, but by convincing us to fear our neighbors and brothers and sisters so much so that we take up arms against them.